The "terrorism bubble" has burst
posted by No Nym
So, between this paper, and the cover story for this month's Atlantic, I'm happy to say that the war on terra is over.
The Cato paper shows that in the US you're more likely to be killed by lightning than terrorists, and urges us to calibrate our responses appropriately. Armchair Generalist catches the US Congress in a rare moment of sanity, seeming to be, er, rational about defense spending. The Atlantic argues that Al Q is FUBAR, and the only threats coming out of the Middle East are the ones of our own making.
I think David Brin had it right, when he said that the "War on Terror" was fought and won on Flight 93, by ordinary US citizens, and Afghanistan was just a mopping up operation.
I think the "terrorism bubble has popped" style of argument is a political keeper. It further lionizes the heroes on Flight 93, and Americans in general. It ties the notion of "war" to specific results: disrupting Al Q. Moreover, it makes the GOP, or anyone who is not acting rationally, look like a bunch of cowards.* Although, the part of me that loves The Prisoner will dearly miss being on Orange Alert all the time. ;)
*If you're not reading Armchair Generalist and Arms and Influence on a regular basis, you should be. Unless you're a republican running for re-election**. In that case, you should stay the course.
**I think that anyone citing 9/11 as evidence for this or that national security policy is objectively pro-terrorist.
The Cato paper shows that in the US you're more likely to be killed by lightning than terrorists, and urges us to calibrate our responses appropriately. Armchair Generalist catches the US Congress in a rare moment of sanity, seeming to be, er, rational about defense spending. The Atlantic argues that Al Q is FUBAR, and the only threats coming out of the Middle East are the ones of our own making.
I think David Brin had it right, when he said that the "War on Terror" was fought and won on Flight 93, by ordinary US citizens, and Afghanistan was just a mopping up operation.
I think the "terrorism bubble has popped" style of argument is a political keeper. It further lionizes the heroes on Flight 93, and Americans in general. It ties the notion of "war" to specific results: disrupting Al Q. Moreover, it makes the GOP, or anyone who is not acting rationally, look like a bunch of cowards.* Although, the part of me that loves The Prisoner will dearly miss being on Orange Alert all the time. ;)
*If you're not reading Armchair Generalist and Arms and Influence on a regular basis, you should be. Unless you're a republican running for re-election**. In that case, you should stay the course.
**I think that anyone citing 9/11 as evidence for this or that national security policy is objectively pro-terrorist.
Posted at 12:23 PM
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